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Tears Remain

When the flood of words And surge of shock Run dry Tears remain Could they forever flow In the dark In the deep Detached disintegration? We are scattered and strewn In the valley stretching On and across A vast expanse of pain Like bones Dry, very, very dry Misplaced and displaced Disordered in decay While […]

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Deep Down Good Things

There is a sorrow That seems endless Like a rope Pulled and pulled There is a darkness That stretches out and on Like a cave Deeper and deeper There are foes That hate and plot Like wolves Pursuing, pursuing There are gods That promise and shame Like a warden Beating on, beating down How long? […]

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The Weight of Dreams

How much do dreams weigh? Desires of the heart Ambitions of youth Fixations of attention And how much when they die? Shards of imagination Fragments of hope Dust of intention How heavy they are! Lifeless loads Burdens of brokenness Jars of salt water We thirst But what’s the cost? To lay them down To account […]

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Yet What Fire Burns

This way, not that Here, not there Now, not then Wash Clean Heal Restore My soul pulses But my body hurts Always changing Burning, failing Slowly fading shadow Evening’s withering blades A smoldering wick I am, fading Yet what fire burns But destroys not Power that swells Shaping clay containers Not into what has been […]

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Secret Soil

In the secret soil of the inner being Wisdom is implanted It is not a native vine But only grows by grace Seeds sown in the humus Of sin and shame Watered with blood and hyssop While God grows clean things A heart Broken Contrite Washed Willing Steadfast Delighted True One that is Never despised […]

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Dust Returning

Dust collects on me As I am dust returning Fading as my possessions do Burning up as yesterday’s logs on the hearth Swirling as on a windy day Stinging my eyes in bewildering chaos I tread on others As they tread on me Souls sticking to soles Lowered and pressed low Tramping fragments of decay […]

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One Winds the Spiral Down

Background I wrote this poem during this past season of Lent. I was inspired by Malcolm Guite’s reflections on different selections of Dante’s The Divine Comedy. In particular, my inspiration came from Guite’s poem “Through the Gate” and the selection of Dante he entitles “Towards a Shining World” from Inferno (lines 133-end) and Purgatory (lines […]

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